With the White House expected to propose another large cash infusion for basic science and energy technology today, Republicans on the House Science Committee will have a chance later this week to push back against President Obama's top science adviser.

John Holdren, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, is scheduled to testify Friday before the committee on the proposed 2013 budget.

He will be tasked with defending an argument, made forcefully by President Obama during his State of the Union address last month, that the United States should invest more heavily in "American-made energy." He pointed out that the current natural gas boom stems in part from government-funded drilling research.

"Don't gut these investments in our budget," Obama said, his comments directed to House Republicans who have sought to trim federal spending since they took office. "Don't let other countries win the race for the future. ... I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here."

Holdren will outline the president's research agenda Monday during a briefing at the headquarters of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Joining him will be David Sandalow, the U.S. Department of Energy's assistant secretary for policy and international affairs.

DOE is expected to direct more money toward high-tech batteries, crucial to electric cars and for backing up sources of energy that fade with the wind or sunshine, in the next few years. DOE announced last week that it plans to launch a new "energy innovation hub" to sponsor $120 million for research on batteries and energy storage over five years.

Chairman Ralph Hall (R-Texas) and his deputies have criticized the administration for moving more of its resources toward work on later-stage projects that they see as meddling with the marketplace.

"We must recognize that increases in federal spending are not the same as prudent investment and do not necessarily lead to innovation," Hall said last year before a similar hearing on the White House's proposed research budget.

Schedule: The hearing is Friday, Feb. 17, at 9:30 a.m. in 2318 Rayburn.

Witness: John Holdren, director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.